Even though far more people believe in Sasquatch and Reptilians than in the chance that a Dirty Harry 6 starring Clint Eastwood would see the light of day, the man himself finally killed the fledgling rumors for good. Cinematical reports that when Eastwood was asked at Cannes, where he’s promoting his well-received and reviewed Changeling, about the possibility of a long goodbye for Harry Callahan, it went down a little something like this…

“That is not correct,” said Eastwood. Angelina Jolie then quipped, “I am!” and Eastwood fired back with a laugh, “Yeah, Dirty Harriet, starring Tomb Raider.”

Next up for the Hollywood legend is Gran Torino, which we have described as “a ‘coming of age buddy comedy’ between an old fart (Eastwood, no offense) who cherishes his titular muscle car and a young, troubled Asian kid who tries to steal said car to impress a gang.” Eastwood will direct and possibly star. Give me an old geezer mowing down punks with a .44 Magnum any day, FTW.

When character descriptions, released last week, for Clint Eastwood‘s Gran Torino confirmed that the film wasn’t Dirty Harry 6, a lot of sites joshed that fans like you and me were out of our gluttonous minds for even desiring a sequel. Sure, the rumored return of Harry Callahan was supported by an infamously cool and extremely random tip AICN received, but to Slashfilm, a number six still made and makes perfect sense. The fact that the studio and Eastwood were mum on such a widespread rumor remains curious.

Well, today, another rumor has started via The Sun regarding Dirty Harry 6, and this time, Dirty Harry is said to go out in a blaze of 70-year-old badass glory. An insider tells the gossipy paper that…

“Clint will make sure Dirty Harry goes out in style.”

It’s also said that Clint Eastwood’s ex-cop won’t live to see the end of the movie or to see Florida’s shuffleboard pastures. Who could take out Dirty Harry? Something to chew on alongside your Quiznos today. Of course, this new rumor could also be bunk, but people must be really frickin’ bored to kick around absolute nonsense about a 77-year-old action hero. More on Dirty Harry 6 as it develops.

All of us wily fans of highly unlikely action premises can let out a logical sigh, as MovieHole has received the official casting breakdown for Clint Eastwood‘s Gran Torino: a dirty, septuagenarian Harry Callahan is no where to be found. Dirty Harry 6 is back to being a daydream, but I’m sure Eastwood had a good laugh and perhaps gave a hmmmm into his lemonade. So, what is Gran Torino?

As previously rumored, it’s a “coming of age buddy comedy” between an old fart (Eastwood, no offense) who cherishes his titular muscle car and a young, troubled Asian kid who tries to steal said car to impress a gang. MovieHole draws careful comparisons to the tone and age juxtaposition of Eastwood’s soporific, underrated A Perfect World. It being my favorite film directed by Eastwood, that’s cool to hear, but I’m also getting Dannon Activia vibes off this. We’ve pasted the lengthy character rundown/synopsis after the jump because it contains spoilers. This November brings Eastwood’s latest directorial effort, Changeling, with Angelina Jolie and it’s riding particularly nice buzz.

Discuss: Would you rather see DH6 or Gran Torino based on the info here? And speaking of minors committing grand theft auto did you see this?

Update: Still no official confirmation or denial from the studio regarding the Dirty Harry 6 rumor. MovieWeb now reports that a close friend of the site who works for Eastwood’s production company has confirmed that Gran Torino is indeed a Dirty Harry sequel. Meanwhile FilmJerk says that a source has told them the film is actually a “quiet drama” with Eastwood starring as a “rural bigot.” Developing…

AICN is reporting that the recently and mysteriously announced Clint Eastwood directorial/star vehicle Gran Torino is actually the sixth installment in the Dirty Harry franchise! Earlier today we reported on the film, which is being rapidly fast tracked for a release this December, speculating that it was probably another Oscar run for Eastwood, but hoped that it was really “Dirty Harry’s Death Proof.”

See, even though Eastwood will be 78 in May (incredible!), the film’s title seemed to reference the too-badass-for-an-Oscar Ford Torino muscle car. The ’72 model can be seen at the right. Well, just minutes ago, AICN posted an email from a tipster that could not have been more on the money…

“I recently advertised my 1974 ford grand torino classic original for sale in the local here, and within 24 hours had someone from Village Roadshow Pictures interested in having a look at it. He came. He wasn’t interested for numerous reasons (probably the modifications). He told me they were looking for the right car for a new Clint Eastwood movie.

He said it was a thriller about a killer that drives a certain torino. His 1972 Ford Gran Torino is the only thing the police have on him. A retired police lieutenant, one Harry Callahan, makes it his mission to track down the culprit when two young police officers, one Callahan’s grandson, are shot and killed by the guy.”

There’s always the chance that this could be a high, fast one, but it does sound mighty solid. Moreover, the franchise is parked at Warner Bros. and so is Torino. Even Dirty Harry can’t hide from the ‘Net. So, looks like we’ll be seeing Harry Callahan pump punks full of lead with the .44 Magnum in the 21st Century, two decades after his last appearance on screen in The Dead Pool. Oh yeah, and this time it’s personal! Somewhere, Sly Stallone is taking a nap.

Discuss: Dirty Harry 6: Gran Torino, does that make your day, or what?